Bottle carrier



June 20, 1961 c. R. ZEITTER 2,989,211

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed May 1, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [maunmwgl v P 1 imw i -P wWWW INVENTOR CHARLES R. ZE/TTER Y QM MM ATTORNEYS June 20, 1961 c. R. ZEITTER 2,989,211

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed May 1, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CHARLES R. ZE/TTER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,989,211 BOTTIJE CARRIER Charles R. Zeitter, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignor to American Box 'Board Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed May 1, 1959, Ser. No. 810,440 2 Claims. (Cl. 220-112) This invention relates to a bottle jacket and carrier. More particularly, this invention relates to a bottle jacket and carrier formed from a one piece paperboard blank and adapted to serve as a protective covering for the bottle and to facilitate both the carrying thereof and the pouring of the contents therefrom.

Bottles of all shapes and sizes are employed for many different uses. Due to technical advances in the field of plastics, many bottles now in existence are made of inexpensive, pliable plastic. Some of these bottles are large and bulky, and quite heavy when filled. Ordinarily, bottles are packed in quantity in larger boxes for ICC FIG. 5 is a front view of the erected jacket having a bottle therein.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the manner in which the jacket facilitates the pouring of the contents from/the bottle.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the jacket and bottle as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Briefly, this invention relates to a bottle jacket and carrier formed from a one piece blank including an upstanding side wall structure, a portion of the side wall a structure being separated therefrom along a generally shipment. Packing of one type or another must be inserted between the bottles to keep them from breaking. One advantage of plastic bottles is that they cannot be broken so easily. However, when filled plastic bottles are shipped, particularly during summer heat, they tend to distort, bulging at the bottom and the sides because of the weight of the liquid.

When bottles reach their destination, and eventually reach the consumer, any type of packing that might have been used has been discarded, leaving no packaging for the bottle. may now occur. The nature of the contents of "many bottles necessitates their storage in garages and workshops, the bottles easily becoming dirty and unsightly if left in the open. Further, if the bottles are rather large,

it is very difiicult to pour the contents therefrom as it is difficult to grasp them. This is especially true of plastic bottles if it is extremely warm and the bottle loses its rigidity.

It is an object of this invention to provide a bottle Even if it has not occurred before, distortion jacket which serves as a package for the bottle both during its shipment and after it reaches the ultimate consumer. The bottle jacket of this invention is such that no changes are needed with respect to the packing of quantities of bottles in a single container since the jacket itself requires practically no additional space. jacket is especially well adapted to be used in conjunction with large plastic bottles as it gives them needed strength and support. Still further, the jacket of this invention expedites the pouring of the contents from the bottle.

An additional object of this invention is to provide such a bottle jacket and carrier which is formed from a one piece paperboard blank. The jacket is extremely simple and consequently inexpensive to manufacture. It may be erected from its blank at the situs of manufacture and be folded into a flat, compact shape for shipment to the user. The shipping and storing of these jackets is inexpensive as they occupy minimal space.

Other objects of this invention will become obvious to those skilled in the art of jackets and carriers upon reading the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the blank used to form the jacket of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the erected jacket folded for shipment or storage.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the erected jacket unfolded and positioned for reception of a bottle.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the erected jacket having a bottle therein, hidden lines showing the strap holding the Thisand 12 will be designated as the area B.

noted that the portion S includes the area B and two trihorizontal slit therein. This portion is folded downwardly to form a bottom lying generally within the circumference of and perpendicular to the side wall structure, the bottom suspended from and between the side wall structure by areas of the separated portion folded thereagainst. A finger receiving cutout is positioned near the top of the side wall structure and a plurality of vertical fold lines in the side wall structure facilitate the reception of bottles of various shapes.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 designates the blank from which the jacket is formed. This blank includes a side wall panel 2 having an attachment flap 3 joined thereto along the fold line 4. A generally horizontal slit 5 is cut in the side wall panel 2. Fold lines 6 and 7 extend from the ends of the slit 5 to the bottom of the side wall panel 2, the fold lines 6 and 7 converging towards each other and lying at an angle of approximately 45 to the slit 5. Hereinafter, the portion of the blank 1 defined by the slit 5 and the fold lines 6 and 7 will be designated as the portion S or bottom strap 5. Fold lines 9, 10, 11 and 12 are positioned vertically with respect to the bottom of the blank 1 in the portion S. Hereinafter, the

area of portion S defined by the slit 5 and fold lines 9 It will thus be angular shaped areas 15 and 16.

. Reinforcement flap 20 is joined to the top of side wall panel 2 along the fold line 21. A plurality of fold lines designated by the numeral 23 are positioned vertically in side wall panel 2, some of these fold lines extending across fold line 21 and the reinforcement panel 20. The cutout 25 is positioned in side panel 2 just below the fold line 21. A flap 27 is cut from reinforcement panel 20,

- joined thereto along the fold line 28, flap 27 being positioned a distance above fold line 21 corresponding to the distance of the cutout 25 below this fold line.

FIG. 3 shows the jacket and carrier comprising this invention as initially erected from the paperboard blank 1. Two simple steps are involved in erecting this holder. The attachment flap 3 is joined to the opposite edge of side wall panel 2 by a suitable means, such as gluing. The reinforcement panel 20 is folded inwardly and downwardly, brought into engagement with the side wall panel and secured thereto, preferably by gluing. When the attachment flap 3 and the reinforcement panel 20 have been secured to the side wall panel 2, it will be noted that the entire structure may be folded into a flat, compact unit as shown in FIG. 2, occupying an absolute minimum of space. It will be recognized that it will be folded into the flat assembly 2 without erection as shown in FIG. 3. The erected position shown in FIG. 3 will normally be an intermediate condition occurring at the time it is erected for reception of a bottle. When the jacket and carrier is to be put into use, it is merely expanded from its folded position so that an upstanding side wall structure is formed (FIG. 3). The portion S defined by the slit 5 and fold lines 6 and 7 is then pushed inwardly toward the interior of the upstanding side wall structure. The converging fold lines 6 and 7 facilitate the positioning of the area B in a generally horizontal position, lying within the upstanding side wall structure. This area B is suspended within the walls by means of the areas 15 and 16 of strap S depending from the side walls and lying generally against them.

Turning to FIGS. 4, 5 and 7, a bottle 50 may then be inserted within the side wall structure 2, the bottom of the bottle resting on the area B of portion S. The vertical fold lines 23 in the side Wall structure facilitate the reception of bottles of various shapes within the jacket and carrier, the bottle being nested tightly therein, as shown in FIG. 7. The shape of the blank 1 can be adapted to fit any size bottle.

It will now be obvious that this jacket provides a covering for the bottle and lends support to it. Further, the bottle may be simply carried from place to place by merely inserting ones fingers into the cutout 25 near the top of the side wall structure. 'It is extremely simple to pour the contents from the bottle when it is enveloped by this jacket. FIG. 6 shows that the fingers of one hand may be positioned within the cutout 25 to hold the bottle and it may easily be tipped within the other hand. Further, the reinforcement panel 20 assures that the jacket has sufiicient strength at the point where it is held.

A jacket and carrier for a bottle has been disclosed which is extremely simple, yet provides all the benefits noted hereinbefore. It is erected from a one piece blank by merely securing the attachment flap 3 to the opposite edge of the side wall panel 2. Even after this attachment is completed, the jacket may be folded into a completely flat form. When one desires to put the bottle in use he need merely shape the jacket to have upstanding side walls, press the portion or strap S within the side wall structure, the area B forming a bottom suspended by the areas 15 and 16 of portion S. This step is extremely simple as the converging fold lines 6 and 7 facilitate the forming of this bottom. One may then insert the bottle within the upstanding side walls, the bottle resting on the bottom formed by the area B.

This jacket and carrier occupies no more space than the bottle itself as the bottle fits snugly therein (FIG. 7). Consequently, the bottles may be packaged for shipment in the same manner as heretofore. Further, this snug fit means that the jacket acts like a corset and offers firm support to the bottle at all times. Because of this action, a relatively thin paperboard structure is able to exhibit tremendous strength when preventing the sagging of plastic bottles. This jacket serves as a protection for the bottles during shipment and lends firm support to plastic bottles which tend to bulge and sag, especially in warm weather. The jacket is neat and pleasing in appearance and consequently is left right on the bottle when sold to the ultimate purchaser. Since the jacket remains on the bottle after shipment, the same advantages are obtained until the purchaser is finished with and disposes of the bottle. It provides the purchaser with an easy means to store the bottle and carry it around as well as facilitating ease in pouring the contents therefrom.

While I have described only one embodiment of this invention, it is possible that it may be practiced through certain other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. These other embodiments are to be included within the spirit and scope of this invention unless the following claims expressly state otherwise.

I claim:

1. A one piece paperboard blank for forming a bottle jacket and carrier, comprising; a side Wall panel having an attachment flap at one end thereof; a finger receiving area cut out from generally near the top of said side wall panel; a generally horizontal slit in said side wall panel; fold lines extending downwardly from the ends of said slit to the bottom of said side Wall panel, said fold lines converging towards each other; the poition of said side wall panel, defined by said slit and lines normal to said slit from the points Where said converging fold lines meet the bottom of said side wall panel, adapted to be positioned generally perpendicular to the blank; and a plurality of generally vertical fold lines in said side wall panel and said portion.

2. A one piece paperboard blank for forming a bottle jacket and carrier, comprising: a side wall forming panel having an attachment flap at one end thereof; a generally horizontal slit in said side wall panel; fold lines extending downwardly from said slit to the bottom edge of the side wall, said fold lines extending towards each other and lying at an angle of substantially 45 with respect to said slit; the portion of said side wall panel, defined by said slit and lines normal to said slit from the points where said converging fold lines meet the bottom of said side wall, adapted to be positioned generally perpendicular to the blank; a finger receiving area cut from generally near the top of said side wall panel; a reinforcement flap joined to said side wall panel above said finger receiving area; and a plurality of generally vertical fold lines in said side wall panel and said portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,575,654 Casler Nov. 20, 1951 2,615,612 Vines Oct. 28, 1952 2,747,767 Bergstein May 29, 1956 2,753,102 Paige July 3, 1956 2,794,571 Fielding June 4, 1957 

